My parents grew up during the Depression. Neither one finished high school because of financial needs. They met in their mid twenties and married soon after. My mother was 34 when I was born which was old for women at that time to bear children. My father worked at many different jobs to support the family and when I was eight, my mother had to go back to work.

My parents worked to provide the best life for me and my sister. I always had a home, food, clothes, family vacations…but through a child’s eyes I saw money was a concern and a worry for my parents and the message I received was life is hard.

Did you grow with these messages? No pain no gain. You have to work hard to _______________. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. If it looks too good to be true, distrust it. You have to fight for what /who you want. You must chase your dreams for them to come true. Unless you put out huge amounts of effort you will never get the result you want. Yes, to live a meaningfull, abundant life, clarity, focus, passion, commitment to your dreams, consistent action, and courage are important ingredients. You must be engaged in creating the life you wish to manifest. But if you have been taught to believe that life is meant to be about struggling, fighting, and pushing to MAKE things happen, you will create that kind of life for yourself. In a recent conversation with a dear friend the topic of money came up. We’ve been committed to our spiritual journey and inner healing for years and money has been a learning edge for us both. In our society money represents so many things to people including: Security Self-worth Freedom Value Power Happiness Prestige Success I’ve worked on releasing money blocks, embracing my self-worth , increasing self-love, standing in my power, deepening my relationship with the Divine, following my passion and inner guidance; all the things I help clients to achieve. I’ve had huge success in many areas of my life and I recognized that one place I was playing out the struggle and drama piece was with through money. And what I realized in this conversation was that I have developed a tendency to create drama and struggle to block having what I really want; like an addiction. What a light bulb moment that was! I felt a huge release of energy and a rush of gratitude for the gift of that awareness. With all of the negative messages we are bombarded with about life being difficult, unsafe, problematic, and tumultuous, is it any wonder so many people feel exhausted, depressed, scared, frustrated and confused? Is life meant to be about struggling, fighting, and pushing to MAKE things happen? What if it isn’t? Guess what? Life is meant to be joyfull, abundant, fun, meaningfull, creative, wondrous, happy, loving… Life is not meant to be full of pain, struggle, suffering, fearful, and full of negative drama. If you grew up in a chaotic environment and yearn to create a life of peace, you may find that when you feel peace, you create problems and drama because that’s your comfort zone to feel safe. If you grew up where money was limited as I did, you may find that attracting or having lots of money feels uncomfortable and you find ways to get rid of it or block too much money coming into your bank account. You may find yourself struggling as you are on the verge of a significant shift and breakthrough and the “tiny you” inside is feeling scared and unsafe. Use that awareness to comfort that part of yourself that is also showing you that you are disconnected with the Divine Source within. Once reconnected to that love and peace that is the REAL you, the fears will diminish. Whatever messages you grew up become the roadmap for your life. If struggle is your default pattern, embrace this truth. Once embraced, you can choose to transform the energy so that your life flows with more joy, ease, and Grace. Struggle is all about FEAR and RESISTANCE. Struggle and suffering is a choice! One way to make a shift is by creating what I call Relentless Affirmations, a process I teach in my new Authentic Power and Joy program. Here is an excerpt from the program materials: Relentless Affirmation means creating a positive statement based on a truth you have come to recognize and accept in your heart and soul. It becomes powerfull when you embody it as a way of being every day. The affirmations are not based on something you wish to be true; rather they are founded on an inner knowingness; a trust and peace within even if the statements are not rock solid when you first create them. Affirmations can be statements of what you want, what you know to be true about yourself, and what you take a stand in/for from power and joy. Statements that affirm what you are tapping into at a deeper level of truth that you know is true regardless of the physical evidence in the world. Statements become declarations of truth that can evoke gratitude and joy. Examples:I know the Universe is abundantI know I am in intimate relationship with every aspect of the energy in this Universe The key is that the statements are not challenged or negated by your ego/mind when you think, feel, and say them. They resonate as truth in your body, heart, and soul. You can know these truths at a deep level and still need reminders when you feel afraid. When you have those moments of forgetfulness and your thoughts spiral into fear, doubt, and unworthiness, relentless affirmations can be your lifeline and portal back to your connection with The Divine and remembering who you are. Saying relentless affirmations bring truth back into context and into your consciousness. Fear loses its grip and drama subsides. In the old interpretation of affirmations there is a perception of separation so you must push, make, and force things to happen to bridge that gap. You must trick your mind to make something happen; all of which is fear-based. We get short term solutions from using that approach but we do not get long term results because we do not get to the heart of the issue. I believe that working with affirmations created from fear and pain in the old paradigm does not create meaningfull lasting shifts at the soul and subconscious level. When you say an affirmation and resistance comes up, you are actually triggering the resistance so you can see it and understand how you are getting in your own way of what you really want. When you say an affirmation and resistance comes up, you are actually triggering the resistance so you can see it and understand how you are getting in your own way of what you really want. Resistance is tied into the beliefs you have about your powerlessness and the how you get in your own way, including self-sabotage. Resistance reveals the ways you think about, believe, or embody your relationship to your power and to the Divine.

Becoming aware of resistance is great because it invites you look at what is true in relationship to you and who you know yourself to be. Resistance shows you where there is healing work to be done. Be willing to dig deep to get to the heart of what your soul and your personality is yearning for. Go beneath the comfortable, easy responses and the ones you think you should want. Reach for the dreams that seem impossible, crazy, even scary that would make your life amazing and exquisite. Tell the truth to yourself; the truth that God already know so that you can begin to take those dreams to turn them into reality!Lorraine CohenFounder of Powerfull Living, Rev. Lorraine Cohen is an internationally recognized life strategist, soul guide, inspirational speaker, heart healer, best-selling author, and charismatic broadcast personality. For more than 25 years, Lorraine has used her extraordinary spiritual and intuitive gifts to support spiritual women who want to make a difference to release fears, traumas, and not feeling good enough to transform their lives and awaken to the wisdom of their souls; to live a soul-fulfilling, abundant and happy lifein alignment with their Divine destiny, She is a featured writer for BellaMia Magazine, best selling co-author Unwavering Strength Volume 2. and co-author in an upcoming book, “Embraced By The Divine: The Emerging Woman’s Gateway to Power, Passion, and Purpose.” releasing later this year. Learn more: http://lorrainecohen.com

Trying to Overcome Fearby getting "rid of it" is a mind game you can’t winby Rev Lorraine Cohen I’ve been dancing with fear all my life. For example, when I was in my 30’s I overcame fear of public speaking to become a sought after speaker and I moved to a new state with little money and no steady income to build a coaching/spiritual guidance/therapy practice that is approaching its 28th year. Was it scary? Hell yeah. How did I deal with my fears and doubts? At the time I used what most people were working with: affirmations, creative visualization, focusing on being in the present, breathing, hypnosis, emotionally eating….techniques geared to interrupt the mental messages, body sensations, and change beliefs and “get rid” of the fear feelings. The focus was all about stopping and getting rid of unwanted fears and feelings. In the late 1990’s my life fell apart for the second time. After buying a new home, a new car, doing some home renovations, my therapy practice suddenly began to steadily decline. Money fears created a panic and I found the usual mind control techniques failed to provide any long term relief. I had periods of feeling terrified, helpless, angry, desperate, and sad. At other times I saw something miraculous happening that would change my life if I just stayed strong, trusted and went the distance through the darkness into the Light. I realized that facing fear is not about overcoming it, it is about walking through it. I began looking at fear in a new light… Instead, imagine seeing fear as an ally to:

Keep you out of harm’s way by alerting you to danger

Help you to discern when you need to set healthy boundaries to be safe and protected

Support you in developing courage to show up to LIFE

Build faith in yourself, others, and God

Provide motivational and inspirational energy to break through perceived limitations and illusions to stand in your greatness.

Show you when the “little you” inside needs attention and comfort; to feel love, care, and protection

Empower you to find your voice in your relationships, your business and in the message you wish to share with the world.

And most importantly, show you when you have disconnected from the Divine within you, the true source of your power.

Trying to overcome fear by getting "rid of it" is a mind game you can’t win.

As long as you see your fears as an enemy to defeat, you will continue to wage war against yourself. To transform fear you must walk through it… to see the illusions and reclaim your Power. The darkness or challenge is a pathway to the Light. You can get stuck in the story of a perceived problem. When you look for the deeper meaning of each experience that challenges you, you will always find healing, learning and growth opportunities. Debbie Ford once wrote: “Love the fears that you hold in your hand more than anything you have ever loved before.

Think about all the hours you have spent trying to deny, avoid, and get rid of these fears, and thank them for showing you your human limitations

Thank your fear for sending you out to look for ways to get rid of it. Look at how you have grown, healed and evolved in your search! Think of all you've discovered during your search!

Thank your fear for bringing you into a journey of self-discovery to find your True Self and reunite with The Divine Thank your fear for guiding you to see illusions created by your mind and being the catalyst for inspiration and motivation to take steps in faith, trust, and courage.

Thank your soul for bringing fear into your life as a pathway to find your way back home to God – this presence within you that loves you dearly– this energy that always triumphs fear.

Love your fears as you would anything you cherish- bless them, honor them, and use them as the sacred reminders that they are...lighting the way back to the wholeness of your Sacred Self and into the loving embrace of the Divine. “ Beautiful wisdom…. You are living at an auspicious time in history, waking up to see life through a new set of eyes in this Era of Enlightenment. Fear will continue to be a part of your life experience as you grow and evolve. A critical key to dance in this new energy is to learn how to live in the present moment, embracing each experience without resistance and allowing your feelings to be fully felt without trying to control, manage, move, and direct their elimination. Any attempt you do to try to control your experience will create more resistance and suffering. Imagine a fire burning and your resistance is like continuing to throw logs on the fire to keep it going.Feel your fears (and every emotion) without focusing on the mental story your mind/ego is creating. Experience your emotions as the energy they are and breathe into them, doing NOTHING. Just feel, breathe and notice… body sensations, thoughts swirling…whatever…..let your emotions play out…. Without resistance and actively engaging your efforts to get rid of or stop what you don’t want to feel, the emotions will begin to burn out and fall apart leading to transformation. Peace and Grace will rush in when you stop fighting. Embrace your fears with love instead of judging them and doing battle. Your life will change....

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Founder of Powerfull Living, Rev. Lorraine Cohen is an internationally recognized life strategist, soul guide, inspirational speaker, heart healer, and charismatic broadcast personality. For more than 25 years, Lorraine has used her extraordinary spiritual and intuitive gifts to support spiritual women who want to make a difference but are blocked by fears and stories of not being good enough and want to find their way back to their truest Self; to live a life that is awake and authentic and to create a reality that is conscious, deliberate and meaningful.http://lorrainecohen.comCo-author to a soon to be released books, “Embraced By The Divine: The Emerging Woman’s Gateway to Power, Passion, and Purpose.” and Unwavering Strength Volume 2.